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Mr. Buteau & The Salmon Project

posted Apr 3, 2017, 4:59 AM by Sarah Mates

Saving The Endangered

By: Da’Zya Horne, Faith Benson, Brooke Robert, and Nael Khenchil

Salmon are an endangered species, but how are they still in New Hampshire? Mr. Buteau conducts his own project to keep them alive. Some of you may know him as the teacher who wears funky ties every day. He is not recognized as much as he should be for all of the hard work he puts into this project. According to Brooke, “He’s a very nice and genuine man.”

Some interesting things to know about Mr. Buteau are that his favorite books are The Theory Of Chaosand One Flew The Cuckoo’s Nest. Aside from saving fish he also likes to eat it. His favorite fish is in fact salmon, but only the west coast variety! He also enjoys other seafood such as trout, haddock, clams, and scallops. His favorite tie is one that has children on it from many different cultures and backgrounds. His birthday is March 19th, and he just turned seventy-seven! When asked what his favorite thing to do at Hillside is he replied with, “Being in the classroom. I think that’s the best thing to do.”

Mr. Buteau is the teacher in charge of Hillside’s very own Salmon Project. This is something he is dedicated to doing annually. He has been raising salmon for over 18 years. The project is about raising and releasing salmon back into the river. It teaches students about endangered species and caring for something other than themselves.

It all begins when Mr. Buteau obtains the salmon eggs from the Nashua National Fish Hatchery. He raises the fish in a tank that has to be constantly monitored. He has to monitor the filter and the temperature to make sure the salmon stay healthy. When a fish dies, Mr. Buteau has to get rid of it right away. If he does not, fungus will grow inside of the fish and eventually break out, spreading the fungus throughout the whole tank. If the fungus were ever to get to the tank all of the fish would become sick and die. Water chemistry and invertebrate studies are also included as a part of the Salmon Project.

At the end of the year the students who raised the salmon go to a nearby river in Goffstown to release them back into the wild. While salmon have become endangered in New Hampshire, Mr. Buteau and his students are helping to revive the species. He is teaching his students to be more involved and caring for the environment as well as increasing the population of an endangered species.

Mr. Buteau has worked at Hillside for 15 years and has been teaching for over 54 years. He enjoys teaching and working with a diverse group of students. “Oh yeah, I love working at Hillside! The attraction here would have to be the diversity of students.” We thank Mr. Buteau for his dedication to the salmon and to all of the students of Hillside.